Free early access — 30 lessons

Learn to DJ.
Your controller is the classroom.

Watch the technique. Visualize it. Then do it on your real hardware — we score every fader move in real-time. No downloads. No $150 classes.

visibility Watch
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psychology Imagine
→
music_note Do it

Free forever for core features. No credit card.

LESSON 4 — BEATMATCH
star 94
Deck A
124.0
BPM
Sync
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Deck B
124.0
BPM
ACENTERB
XP — Resident DJ Lv.4 1,240 / 2,000
30
Structured lessons
100%
Browser-based
~0ms
MIDI latency target
Free
Core features, forever

Learning to DJ is stuck in 2010

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YouTube tutorials

Passive watching with zero feedback. You never know if you're actually hitting the phrase or drifting off-beat.

payments

DJ schools

High barriers to entry with $50–$150/hr rates. Inaccessible for most beginners just starting their journey.

terminal

Pro DJ software

Built for professional performance in a club, not for teaching technical fundamentals to a novice.

Watch → Imagine → Do

A 3-phase learning loop that builds muscle memory faster than passive video watching.

visibility Watch the technique

See an expert demo with interactive overlays marking exact fader positions, beat cue points, and transition timing. Annotations pause on the key moment.

Beat cue overlays Fader position guides Phrase markers
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▼ Push crossfader left
8-bar phrase
psychology Visualize before you play

Our guided visualizer walks you through the track structure mentally — so your hands already know where to go before you touch the decks.

Mental rehearsal Track structure map Action prompts
Track structure — 32 bars
INTRO
VERSE
VERSE
DROP ↓
Next action in 4 bars
Push crossfader to center, bring up EQ highs on Deck B
music_note Your turn — we score it

Plug in your controller and attempt the technique. We read your MIDI signals in real-time, scoring timing accuracy, phrase alignment, and EQ technique to the millisecond.

Real hardware scoring Instant feedback
97
Timing
88
Phrasing
91
EQ Blend
Feedback
Good entry — crossfader moved 0.3 beats early. Listen for the snare on beat 3 before committing.
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+120 XP

Everything you need to actually get good

Not a passive course. A real practice environment that knows how you're playing.

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Real hardware scoring

Every MIDI event from your actual controller — jog wheel nudges, fader moves, EQ sweeps — is analyzed against the target transition with millisecond precision. No guessing. No self-grading.

WebMIDI No plugins Any controller
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30 structured lessons

Three skill tiers — Foundations, Transitions, and Advanced — covering everything from your first beatmatch to complex EQ blending and phrase-perfect drops.

10
Foundation
10
Transitions
10
Advanced
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Spaced repetition practice

onset tracks which techniques you've mastered and which need work. It resurfaces weak points at exactly the right intervals — the same memory science as Anki and Duolingo, applied to mixing.

Auto-scheduled review Weak point detection
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XP tracking and streaks

Earn XP for every session. Build daily streaks. Level up from Beginner through Resident DJ to Club Headliner. Progress that reflects how you actually mix.

Resident DJ — Level 4 1,240 / 2,000 XP
🔥 14-day streak
+2x XP bonus active

See it in action

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Demo video coming soon
devices

Get the recommended controller

Works out-of-the-box with onset via WebMIDI. No drivers. No setup.

Hercules Inpulse 200 MK2
~$100

Best entry-level pick. Full MIDI mapping, two decks, built-in audio interface. Perfect for beginners.

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Pioneer DJ DDJ-200
~$150

Step-up option. Full Pioneer layout — skills transfer directly to club equipment.

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* Affiliate links. onset earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Frequently asked questions

Which controllers are supported?

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Any controller with WebMIDI support works — most modern gear made after 2015. Tested: Hercules Inpulse 200/300/500, Pioneer DDJ-200/400/FLX4, Numark Party Mix, Denon MC3000. If your controller shows up in Chrome's Web MIDI settings, it works in onset. No drivers or extra software needed.

Is it free?

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Yes — core features are free forever. No credit card, no trial period, no paywall on fundamentals. The 30-lesson curriculum, real-time scoring, XP system, and spaced repetition all stay free. We'll offer advanced lesson packs and deeper analytics later.

Do I need to install anything?

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Nothing. onset runs entirely in your browser using the Web Audio API and WebMIDI API — no plugins, no extensions, no downloads. Open Chrome or Edge on a desktop (1200px+ screen), plug in your controller, and start. Safari has limited MIDI support so Chrome is recommended.

Do I need a controller to get started?

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No — mouse and keyboard work for basic lessons. You can learn tempo matching, phrasing theory, and EQ concepts without hardware. But a ~$100 controller makes everything 10x more real. The scoring system is designed around actual MIDI input. We're also building a phone-as-controller feature.

What music can I practice with?

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Any audio files you own — MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC. Drag them onto a deck and go. onset auto-detects BPM and generates a beat grid. We don't host music for legal reasons, but any files you own work instantly.

What genres does onset teach?

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The core curriculum is genre-agnostic — beatmatching, EQ blending, transitions, and phrasing work the same whether you're mixing house, hip-hop, or drum & bass. Advanced lessons cover genre-specific techniques: rolling drops for techno, choppy cuts for hip-hop, long blends for house.

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Limited Early Access

Lifetime Beta Access
$29

Lock in lifetime access at our lowest price.

Early supporters get every future feature included — no monthly fees, ever.

Get Lifetime Access — $29
  • ✓ All 30 lessons, forever
  • ✓ Every future feature
  • ✓ One-time payment